In my last review I just wrote about Sa Ran and Da Mo’s relationship as the post was starting to get very long! So here is an overview of the other characters and story lines in this section of the drama. In a nutshell, Ra Ra’s parents get divorced and so Ms. Oh tries to get closer to Dr. Geum. She fails as Dr. Geum is going to marry Ms. Han. Ra Ra plans to get married too. Ra Ra’s uncle gets in trouble when his wife discovers he has a love child.

Ms. Oh hears that Ra Ra’s parents are getting divorced and she is pleased because she thinks that now she has a chance to finally be with Dr.Geum who she has liked for a long time. But she is shrewd and knows that she will have to win Ra Ra’s grandmother over first if she is to have any chance at all. So she starts to casually meet her. She gives her presents and takes her to spas and gives her a shoulder to cry on when she needs to talk about what’s going on in her family. She acts like a concerned friend but really she is softening her up to the idea of a new daughter-in-law. And it seems to be working…

OK, So Sa Ran becomes a gisaeng. But then she starts making even crazier decisions! In a nutshell, after Sa Ran joins the gisaeng house, Da Mo tries to date other women but can’t forget her. He finds her and tries to get her to leave the house and marry him. She won’t because she doesn’t think she’s good enough for him. She decides that the only way to get Da Mo to leave her alone is to have her hair raised in a gisaeng marriage! She meets an older, rich, single guest and he agrees to raise her hair…

I thought the rainy season was coming to an end. But it seems to be back again! Heavy rain and thunderstorms yesterday, more today, and lots more on the way.. According to the Korea Times there have been downpours of a record 60 mm an hour in Seoul and central and southern areas. At least 17 people have been killed in landslides and more have been injured or are reported missing.

When I watched the drama Dae Jang Geum, about the cooks at the Joseon royal court, it really made me want to become a better cook. I make Korean food most days but I stick to fairly simple dishes so I thought about joining a cooking class but never did. Now I’m about half way through New Tales of Gisaeng and Ms. Han, the head chef at the gisaeng house is spending a lot of time at Doctor Geum’s house trying to win over her future mother-in-law with her cooking. It’s making me think about cookery classes again! She’s cooking lots of good food so much so that anyone who is against the marriage but tries her food is charmed by her amazing cooking – I’d like to be able to cook like that! It makes me hungry watching it! Tonight I made golbengi muchim for dinner – served with rice and soju of course!

In this episode Sun Mi and Young Mi compete for the media studies scholarship. Although I’m sure we’re all wanting Sun Mi to win, it’s Young Mi who really needs the scholarship money. They both practise interviewing and reading the news at home but in very different situations – we can see the difference in their lives again. Sun Mi can practise with her loving dad in their nice house. She has a large wardrobe with a wide range of clothes to choose from. And she gets chauffeured to school in the car by her dad. Meanwhile Young Mi practices alone, goes to school on a crowded bus and has to patch her old shoes up as she doesn’t have any others. Watching this time around I have a lot more sympathy for Young Mi. Having said that, her vicious streak drives me mad. If only she could just be happy with Woo Jin instead of having to be so competitive and ruthless all the time… but then it would be a boring drama!

The rivalry continues between Sun Mi and Young Mi, All About Eve, episode 5, MBC 2000

Here’s the next brief recap of the story line from episodes 11-20. Sa Ran is finally pushed into joining the gisaeng house, so in the next part we’ll see how that works out. Her step mum really stepped up to the wicked step mother role here and succeeded in making me angry! She is so manipulative using different tricks to make Sa Ran financially support the family. And Sa Ran’s dad is so weak he was annoying me even more! He just sits back and agrees with everything his wife decides to do. Even when it comes to telling Sa Ran about her real mother. I felt sorry for Sa Ran and was disappointed that even though she stands up to her step mother, she falls for her manipulative tricks in the end too. Some family secrets are revealed, Da Mo and Sa Ran break up, and Da Mo decides he may as well get married -to anyone – as long as they are rich and acceptable to his family! Ra Ra changes dramatically – She has to grow up quickly after she learns more about her family. She becomes more mature but luckily now there’s another spoilt brat on the scene to take her place – Da Mo’s new girlfriend!

Sa Ran and Da Mo’s story

Da Mo is still having problems at home and is frustrated about the way his dad treats him and his mum. He tries to get his mum to stand up to his dad. But she won’t – when her husband comes home drunk and shouts at her, she obediently rushes off to get him his usual honey water. And in the morning when he complains that the kimchi in the chi-ge (stew) is not soft enough, she meekly tries to explain that there’s not much time in the morning to cook. His reply is that she should get up at 4am to make sure it’s cooked properly! Nice chap. He couldn’t be more different to Sa Ran’s dad. Da Mo tries to support his mum in these situations but she stops him when he tries to say something. She doesn’t want an argument and just wants to keep the peace. Why does she put up with this all the time?